Christmas tree stand



March 1954 E. F. CARNEY ,671,624

CHRISTMAS TREE STAND Filed Feb. 24, 1951 IN VEN TOR.

EDWARD E OARNE Y Fig.5 3%

Patented Mar. 9, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHRISTMAS TREE STAND Edward F. Carney, Cleveland, Ohio Application February 24, 1951, Serial N 0. 212,561

2 Claims.

This invention relates in general to stands for supporting longitudinal members in an erect position, and relates more specifically to a stand for holding a Christmas tree.

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No. 140,044, filed January 23, 1950, now abandoned.

An object of this invention is to provide a stand to hold a tree and giving principal support at a point along the trunk of the tree above the base of the tree.

Another object of this invention is to provide a Christmas tree stand having two spaced tree engagement portions joined by a rigid post, and a base to hold the stand in a vertical position.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a Christmas tree stand having a base engagement member and a trunk engagement member spaced substantially along a perpendicular line to automatically set a tree in the best vertical position without sighting and adjusting.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a tree stand which may be assembled and dismantled without tools, and which will store in a minimum of space.

It is to be understood that the foregoing objects are directed to the basic physical properties of this invention, and that these objects do not set forth the many features which could be classed as sales appeal. Therefore, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an assembled tree stand which embodies the improved features of this invention;

Figure 2 is a top detail view of the base member;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view, as sighted from below the stand.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention is the commercial embodiment which has been designed to be shipped knocked down in a small carton, and represents a good commercial tree stand, but it is obvious that there will be modifications possible without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. The illustrated embodiment comprises generally a base member I0 and a vertical post 30. Centrally of the base member IU is a vertical pin H3. The post is made up of two telescoping L-shaped members,

namely, a base L member II and an extension L member [5. The extension L member l5 comprises a post portion l6 and an arm portion ll. The arm portion [1 has a tree abutment end l8 thereon. The tree abutment end I8 is almost, but not exactly, vertically above the central axis of the vertical pin l3. Therefore, a Christmas tree, or for that matter any member which is to be stood in a vertical position, can be impinged upon the pin l3 and strapped or otherwise secured to the end Iii and will automatically assume a substantially vertical position regardless of bow or other irregularities in the member being supported.

The base member In, in this preferred embodiment of the invention, is assembled from a spider l2 and a plurality of removable feet members 23. The spider l 2 may be either a flat plate section, or preferably a water holding pan as illustrated in the drawing. The spider I2 is formed with a triangular indentation 20 on the bottom surface thereof, and a plate l4, also formed with a triangular indentation 2!, is secured on the bottom of the spider I2. The triangular indentations 20 and 2| register to define three radially extending sockets 22. It is, of course, understood, that three radially extending sockets are entirely sufficient, but more or fewer sockets may be provided if desired.

Feet members 23, and the foot portion of the L post member I l are formed with a very Small taper on the end thereof, and the radially extending sockets 22 are similarly tapered, in order that the feet members may be forced into the socket 22 and held therein by a wedge grip action. A small taper of this nature will hold the feet members tightly secured to the spider l2, but nevertheless will allow removal of the feet members when desired. Each of the feet members is slightly offset in the area joining the portion that extend into the socket 22, and that portion serving as a floor contacting foot, in order to place the bottom of the feet members on the same plane as the bottom of the plate I4, and thereby provide a good solid base member [0.

The outstanding features of this invention lie in the vertical post 30 and its component part. The member II is formed to serve the purpose of a foot member and a portion of the vertical post, but the location of the vertical post portion at the end of the foot portion is for a purpose much more important than mere economy of manufacture' Anyone acquainted with the type of evergreen trees normally used as Christmas trees will realize that there is no portion center of gravity of that tree.

of a well-balanced tree where a straight edge may be laid along the trunk of the tree from the base upwardly without encountering several branches. Therefore, the prior stands which have been provided with vertical posts have all confined the vertical post to a very short upright distance in order to engage the trunk of the tree below the first branches, or at least not more than the height of the first few branches in order that the interference just discussed would not be encountered. Any stand with a long post designed to extend close to the trunk of the tree is useless.

The vertical post 30 has still another extremely important feature not found in any successful Christmas tree stand known heretofore. The extension ortion I5 of the vertical post is relatively long to extend upwardly to about the center of the average tree used in home decoration. The ideal location to hold a Christmas tree in order to provide the most stability and the greatest ease in mounting the tree, is at or slightly above the In a six foot Christmas tree, which is probably above the average height used in most homes, the center of gravity will fall in the lower half of the tree because of the larger'trun'k and the larger limbs at the lower portion thereof. Therefore, if that tree is grasped and held at any point above that grasps the tree at'the base to hold that tree up for inspection if the tree is any size at all, but rather he grasps the'tree at or above the center of gravity in order that the tree may be easily held upright without effort. The stand of this invention is designed to accomplish that same ease of holding in order to give stability to the tree and to almost eliminate difficulties with respect to getting the tree perpendicularly aligned. There is no exact height which can be said to be the critical height to which the vertical post 30 of this approved stand should extend, but it is certain that the height of the post should be greater than the normal span which would be required for the base member In and at least eighteen inches high. That is, the base member ID must have the feet members 23 of a reasonable length in order to provide the proper support for the taller trees of six to eight feet in height, and in order to provide a proper vertical post 30, it 'sho'uldbegreater than the distance across the base In in order that the tree abutiiient end I8 of the post 30 will be high enough to serve all average size trees.

The vertical 'post 30, when made from the sections II and It as illustrated, actually com rises a large C member with the foot portion of the member I l providing the lateral distance for the vertical section of the post 30, and the arm portion I! holding the'tree abutment end 18 inwardly the distance necessary to position the end 18 almost vertically above the pin I3. The end I8 is not placed directly above the pin I3 in order to allow for the thickness of the tree trunk at the height where the end l8 engages the tree trunk. A skate strap 2'4 is provided on the tree abutment end1l'8 because of itsiease 'of manipulation andlow cost,'and the strap is circled about the tree and pulled up tight to bind the end I8 and the tree together.

With the vertical post 30 positioned laterally as described. the tree stand of this invention avoids conflict of the vertical post with the branches of the tree, and with the end It of the vertical post spaced a distance which is greater than the distance across the base of the stand, the end I8 will reach to or above the center of gravity of substantially every domestic tree which will be attempted to be mounted. Therefore, a tree mounted in this improved Christmas tree stand will not be held in a vise like grip at its base where the stresses are extremely great, but rather the tree is held at the place where there is substantially no stress and no mechanical advantage which will act like a strong lever in attempting to break the tree out of a vise grip on its base. The pin I3 is provided in this improved Ghristmas tree stand in order to give the base of the tree a non-skid seat, and is not provided to grip and hold the tree in the manner normally employed by Christmas tree stands. There have been recent patents issued illustrating Christmas tree stands which have a short post member reaching a few inches above the butt end of the tree trunk to grasp the tree and hold it erect. This type of tree holder operates on exactly the same principle that has been employed for generations, namely a grasping of the tree at its extreme base where the forces are the greatest, rather than a grasping of the tree at or above its center of gravity where the forces are the least. A tiny string will hold a large tree vertically erect if that string is attached to the top of the tree, but an extreme vise grip is required if that same tree is supported by holding its base. The tree stand of this invention is the onlystand known at "the present time which supports the tree where the stresses are at a minimum.

Further, because of the elevated support position, and the offset=type post, together with the skate strap anchoring means, only one size tree stand will hold all conventional size home-use trees. Stands on sale prior to this invention were made in size variations'to suit various tree sizes and trunk dimensions.

A- further feature which has been found to be extremely valuable in this improved Christmas tree stand is the outrigger 29 which is illustrated in the drawing as being attached to the L post member ll The outrigger 29 is simply a secondary foot member which is positioned to extend along the same plane, namely the floor surface, contacted by the bottom of the base member Ill. The stand will operate to support a tree without the outrigger 29, but with the outrigger 29 the stability is increased beyond all expectations. Therefore, the preferred embodiment of this invention includes the outrigger foot 29, although such a foot member is not essential to the operation of the stand with all trees, and may be omitted in smaller trees if desired.

Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of para substantially flat plane, means removably joining said foot members at a common center, tree trunk engagement and holding means carried by said base structure substantially centrally disposed with respect to said base structure, an upright tree holding member carried at the outer end of one of said foot members, a lateral stabilizer carried at the juncture of said one foot member and upright member, said stabilizer extending transversely of said one foot member, said stabilizer foot having surfaces disposed to seat in the said flat plane, said upright member being vertically adjustable in height and having a top end member extending laterally over the base structure to a position substantially over said trunk engagement means, and means to secure a tree trunk to said top end member.

2. A tree stand comprising, a central hub member seatable upon a plane surface and having a vertical spike carried thereby, a U-shaped upright tree support member adjustable in vertical height, said tree support member having a base member portion seatable upon said plane surface, the end of said base member and the hub having friction interlock surfaces removably joining them as a cooperating structure, said tree support member having a top end extending substantially over said References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,016,822 Golden Feb. 6, 1912 1,875,618 Lenon Sept. 6, 1932 2,410,227 Matthews Oct. 29, 1946 2,490,858 Deddo Dec. 13, 1949 2,500,215 Swearingen Mar. 14, 1950 2,502,040 Franklin Mar. 28, 1950 2,609,169 Kroeger Sept. 2, 1952 

